December 2015 It’s a Wonderful Life with live score

Concertgoers in San Francicso will have a rare opportunity in December to see and hear Frank Capra’s classic holiday film. The San Francisco Symphony will perform Dimitri Tiomkin’s original score live to film in performances on December 11 and 12. Conductor Justin Freer will lead the orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus.

The phenomena of accompanying a film with a live performance of the score has been gaining traction and audiences in recent years. Launched in 2009, “Star Wars in Concert” featured projected edited film sequences accompanied by music from the soundtracks of the first three Star Wars films scored by composer John Williams. Since then more and more orchestras have been programming concerts featuring a film in its entirety and the score performed live. From Psycho to Lord of the Rings and Titanic to Ratatouille these “live in concert” performances offer audiences a chance to hear the score in an concert setting that loosely resembles the original scoring sessions.